Chapter 4 She’s Quite Lucky

Chapter 4 Her Luck Was Good

"Voluntary? You were strangers. Why would it willingly give you its demon core?"

"Perhaps she pitied our shared misfortune. She said most of her demon core had been destroyed and she wouldn’t live much longer anyway, but it could still save my life."

Bai Xiuming watched A Chan with a faint smile, waiting for her to finish before speaking calmly, "I have never heard of such a kind-hearted demon. And you just happened to encounter one."

As he spoke, he slowly circled the iron rack, the tip of the whip dragging lightly against the ground with a soft scraping sound.

A Chan could sense him moving behind her. The thought of the earlier pain made her tremble slightly, but she gritted her teeth and said, "Perhaps I was just lucky."

"Ending up in my Bright Mirror Bureau proves your luck... isn't so good."

As his words fell, the fabric tore. The short jacket pierced by the arrow was ripped open further, along with the undergarment beneath.

Though the interrogation room was warmed by charcoal, a chill still crept into her clothes, making A Chan tense instantly.

Bai Xiuming squinted slightly as he observed the smooth, unmarked back revealed beneath the torn jacket—not a single scar remained.

"Now, let’s discuss why the Ji Chan I investigated doesn’t seem to be the same person as you." The barbed whip brushed lightly against her spine. "I dislike those who lie repeatedly. Understand?"

A Chan took a deep breath, her lips twitching. "I wouldn’t dare deceive you, Commander. After consuming her demon core, I gained some of her memories. Perhaps merging with them changed me."

"Is that so?" Bai Xiuming walked back to face her. "But I believe a fox demon possessing a human body and attempting to deceive me sounds much more likely."

"You think I’m the fox demon?" A Chan gave a bitter laugh, her eyes reddening.

"Aren’t you?"

"You’re just like my father, always trying to slander me. If you truly want me dead, why bother with excuses?"

As she spoke, tears fell like broken beads, dripping from her pointed chin onto her body. Yet her gaze remained fixed on Bai Xiuming.

"Even if I leave here alive, who knows how many days I’ll last? My mother is dead, and my father wants me to join her. I figured I might as well die by your hand—at least someone would bury me."

Bai Xiuming stared silently at the woman who claimed she wanted to die, suddenly reminded of someone from many years ago who had also begged him to kill her.

Someone who didn’t truly wish to die but had no choice but to plead for it.

The memory made him hesitate briefly before he quickly recovered.

He thought to himself, this woman before him was very different from the one in his memories.

It was clear she was trying everything she could to survive—hence why her tears were so... compelling.

His fingers twitched slightly before he finally spoke, "Guards."

"Commander." Two jailers appeared outside the interrogation room.

"Lock her up."

"Yes."

Once released from the iron rack, A Chan’s legs buckled, and she collapsed to the ground. The whip strike had nearly taken half her life. But at least she was still alive.

The two jailers each grabbed an arm and dragged her into a dark cell, swiftly locking the door behind them before leaving.

The cell was empty—not even a single straw mat like those in ordinary cells. A Chan huddled on the cold floor, enduring both the pain and the chill.

She was too weak to pay attention to anything else, not knowing that Bai Xiuming had been watching her from outside the cell the entire time.

Rubbing the ring on his finger, his suspicions about Ji Chan remained unresolved.

After standing there for a while, he gave quiet instructions to the jailer waiting nearby before turning to leave.

Exiting the prison, Bai Xiuming headed to the archives tower in the northwest corner of the Bright Mirror Bureau. Inside a small chamber on the top floor, he found an elderly man with white hair whose hand shook as he held a brush.

The old man set down his brush and attempted to rise upon seeing Bai Xiuming, but the latter stopped him with a gesture.

"No need for formalities."

The old man sat back in his chair but still spoke respectfully, "Former Keeper of the Archives, Zhan Yi, greets the Commander. What matter brings you here today?"

Bai Xiuming got straight to the point. "Can a human survive after consuming a demon core?"

Zhan Yi pondered for a moment before answering, "Theoretically, no. The power of demons is too different from that of humans—they are rarely compatible."

"'Rarely' implies it’s possible?" Bai Xiuming picked up on the uncertainty in his words.

"You are wise, Commander. My ancestors once recorded in their notes that if a demon willingly extracts its core and gifts it to a mortal, the mortal may extend their life by consuming it. However, in my over a hundred years of life, I’ve never witnessed it myself."

"Do you believe your ancestors’ records are true?"

"My ancestors left behind these notes—they must have seen it with their own eyes. In my youth, I collected many tales of the supernatural, many of which involved demons transferring their cores to loved ones. I doubt they were all baseless rumors."

Noticing Bai Xiuming’s slight frown, Zhan Yi continued calmly, "I once studied several demon cores. Aside from their wild demonic energy, they indeed contained immense vitality. If one could purge the demonic energy, what remained would be the finest life-prolonging medicine in this world."

"Have you tried it?" Bai Xiuming became interested.

Zhan Yi chuckled. "I haven’t, but someone else already did it for me."

He narrowed his eyes in recollection before speaking, "Back in the previous dynasty, a cult called the Demon God Sect emerged in Tongzhou, teaching enlightenment through demon cores. Its followers embedded demon cores in their bodies. Those who survived transformed demonically and caused the imperial court plenty of trouble."

"What happened then? Did the previous emperor send troops to crush them?"

"No." At this, Zhan Yi chuckled. "Before the emperor even sent troops, the sect’s leader died."

"How?"

"The leader had heard that the demon core of a mystic tortoise could extend life for a thousand years. He hunted a Third Realm mystic tortoise and told his followers that he had successfully purified the core’s demonic energy, promising eternal life to all in the sect. Then he swallowed the core publicly—only for a Fourth Realm cultivator to explode into dust, taking the sect’s entire leadership with him."

"He didn’t purify it thoroughly?"

"I don’t think so. The leader had reached the Fourth Realm—he couldn’t have been mistaken. I’ve always believed a demon core is like an essential organ of a demon, containing not just their power and vitality, but perhaps even their consciousness. If they don’t wish to be consumed, of course they’d resist."

Bai Xiuming gave a slight nod, though it was unclear whether he accepted this explanation.

"If someone miraculously survived after consuming a demon core, could their personality change?"

"If my theory holds, the core contains more than just power and vitality—some effect is unavoidable. Unfortunately, these are merely conjectures without solid evidence."

"If a demon possesses a human, will divine lightning always strike?"

"Without exception," Zhan Yi answered firmly.

Bai Xiuming stood. "Thank you for your insights today, Elder Zhan."

"Take care, Commander."

Bai Xiuming left the library, mulling over the day's events.

Thunder rumbled over the capital tonight, clearly signaling a demon's attempted possession. But since the lightning did not strike, it meant the attempt had failed.

Whether the demon core that Ji Chan mentioned was given to her out of pity by the fox demon or as a means to first repair her body before possession, she'd ultimately benefited from it.

As she had said, she'd been lucky indeed.

From that night onward, A Chan didn't see Bai Xiuming again.

She stayed locked up, her wounds giving her a fever. The jailer called a physician to treat her.

Later, after hearing the physician say she was too frail to endure the cold, the jailer even threw her a thin blanket.

The physician came to examine her for three consecutive days, leaving medicine each time with few words.

A Chan was grateful to this physician. Had he not spoken up, her weak body might not have held out until her release.

Little did she know, the physician headed straight for the inner hall of the Bright Mirror Bureau after leaving the prison.

"How is she?" Bai Xiuming asked without even looking up from the documents he was reviewing.

The physician stood at the door and replied respectfully, "Reporting to the Commander, the young lady has an exceptionally poor physical condition, with blocked meridians. There is no trace of demonic energy flowing within her, nor any signs of demonic transformation. Her body is exceedingly weak, even weaker than an average person's."

"Understood. You may leave."

Another three days went by after the physician's examination. For anyone else, six days in prison would've probably broken them.

But A Chan had always been patient—otherwise, she never would've found her chance to escape to the capital despite the tight surveillance.

This time, she waited just as patiently.

On the seventh day, Feng Yang came for her, a subordinate of that man.

Feng Yang told the jailer to open up the cell and release her.

After seven days in prison, aside from looking somewhat disheveled, A Chan was not completely worn out.

Feng Yang, however, looked away after one glance and called for a black cloak to be brought to her.

Having been wrapped in the blanket all this time, A Chan had nearly forgotten her torn clothes. Human women probably cared greatly about such things.

After fastening the cloak and tidying her hair, she said to Feng Yang, "Thank you for your kindness, sir."

"Don’t thank me. It was all the Commander’s doing. Let’s go."

He escorted her out of the prison and through the gates of the Bright Mirror Bureau.

Was she really free just like that? A Chan could hardly believe it.

She stood outside the bureau for a while, confirming no one would call her back, before orienting herself and heading toward Changping Lane.

Walking and resting along the way, it took her a full hour before she finally saw Ji Chan’s dwelling—the small shop with its shutters closed.

Yet, not far from the shop stood a carriage, unmarked and unlikely to belong to the Marquis of Jinyang’s household. Whose was it?

As she searched her memory, an elderly woman descended from the carriage, beaming as she came forward.

"You must be Miss Chan. The mistress has been worried sick since hearing you were taken in by the Bright Mirror Bureau for questioning. She sent me to wait here for you."

A Chan finally recognized the woman—it was Sun Ma, the attendant serving her aunt, Xiao Lin Shi.